Bond denied for brothers accused in deputy shooting, manhunt ends in Mount Olive

A routine seatbelt stop in Mount Olive escalated into a deputy shooting, a Blue Alert and an hourslong manhunt that ended with two brothers found hiding under a house. At a June 10 bond hearing, a judge refused bond on the attempted capital murder counts against Cortavious Hobbs and Cortavion Hobbs, underscoring how quickly violence against law enforcement can push a case from traffic enforcement into the most serious part of the criminal justice system.

Authorities said Deputy Yates Rodney stopped a blue SUV around 2:45 p.m. June 8 after spotting a seatbelt violation near U.S. Highway 49. Multiple reports said Rodney then noticed suspected narcotics and contraband inside the vehicle. When the occupants fled, the chase ran through several roads before the SUV became stuck near Greer’s CashSaver, close to the Covington, Smith and Simpson county lines and near the Mount Olive post office. Rodney and another deputy ordered the suspects out, and investigators said the passenger suddenly got up and opened fire.

Sheriff Darrell Perkins said Rodney was wearing a bulletproof vest, but the bullet struck an unprotected area at the vest’s edge. Reports said Rodney was stable, alert and talking, though one account said he may have suffered a spinal injury and another said part of his lung was removed after the shooting. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation issued a Blue Alert while the suspects were still at large, and the search drew in multiple agencies before the brothers were arrested around 1 a.m. June 9, after investigators found them hiding under a house in Mount Olive.

Court records and reports identified the brothers as Cortavious Lawayne Hobbs, 18, and Cortavion Dewayne Hobbs, 19. Both faced two counts of attempted capital murder and hindering prosecution, while Cortavion also faced a felony fleeing charge. The judge denied bond on the attempted capital murder counts but set separate $250,000 bonds on the hindering charges and, for Cortavion, the fleeing count. In cases involving alleged violence against an officer, judges typically weigh the seriousness of the charge, the danger to the public and the risk a defendant could flee, and the attempted capital murder allegations kept the brothers jailed.

The case has already spread beyond Covington County. Andy Gipson publicly asked people to pray for Rodney, and Gov. Tate Reeves urged Mississippians to keep the deputy in their prayers. Community members organized prayer gatherings and blood drives as the manhunt unfolded, and authorities said additional charges were expected. Investigators also said the Hobbs brothers are believed to be related to Cordarius Hobbs, who is accused in a separate Simpson County double homicide involving Billy and Carol Blair, adding another layer of violent-crime concern to a case that began with a seatbelt violation and ended in a statewide emergency.